Preliminary analysis of aerial hyperspectral data on shallow lacustrine waters

The availability of MIVIS hyperspectral data, deriving from an aerial survey recently performed over a test-site in Lake Garda, Italy, gave the possibility of a preliminary new insight in the field of specific applications of remote sensing to shallow water analysis. The spectroradiometers in the visible and in the thermal infrared were explored in particular, accessing to helpful information for the detection of bio-physical indicators of water quality, either related to the surface/sub-surface of waters or to the bottom of the lake, since the study area presents very shallow waters, never exceeding a 6-meter depth in any case. Primary interest was the detection of man-induced activities along the margins, like sewage effect and sedimentary structure in the bottom or algal bloom. Secondly, a correlation between absorptivity coefficients in the visible bands and bathimetric contour lines in the proximity of the marginal zone of the lake was accomplished, by means of two indicative spectroradiometric transects.